FOOTNOTES:
[78] Told by Enemy-Heart.
77. THE ATTACK UPON THE EAGLE HUNTERS.[79]
Many years ago it was a common practice for the Arikara to go upon the hills and dig holes in them and stay in the holes many days, to catch eagles. One young man went away off by himself. He climbed upon a high hill, dug a hole, and over the hole spread some dry limbs. On the limbs he placed some dead jack-rabbits and other small animals. Then he himself got into the hole. His bow and arrows were lying outside of the den. While he was lying there the Sioux came and found the hole. They marched down and came upon the man. They found his bow, arrows, and gun outside. They took the things off from the hole and told the man to crawl out. They then wanted to know where the other men were. He told them they were at another place. So they tied him up and he led them up to the spot where the other men were. They found that the party had lots of meat. They untied the man and told the Arikara to stand around the fireplace while they made the man cook the meat for them. The man cooked a lot of dried meat, and the first thing he did was to take a fire-stick, which he ran into a piece of buffalo tallow. This he held over the fire, and as the grease was dripping from it he whirled it around and burned the Sioux with the grease. The Sioux were all scared. The man went out of the tipi and walked a short distance, for he was very weak, for the Sioux had been torturing him. Now, he went a little way ahead into a ravine. The Sioux were all scared, for they thought that the man had gone outside and was waiting for any of them to come out, so that he might kill them. They stayed in the tipi all night.
That night the man went home and told the people all that had happened, and the warriors and braves got on their ponies and they found that the Sioux had just left the tipi. They caught up with the Sioux and killed three of them. The Arikara went home victorious with three scalps. So the people gave war dances.